Tag: Mosaic

Sulphur benchmarks firmed around the globe in April. Although availability remains ample, downstream production is expected to rise in the weeks ahead and further upside for prices is expected, at least in the short term. Prices increased the Middle East, Indonesia, India, Brazil, and the Mediterranean. The Middle East spot price was assessed up an average $3/t at $83-88/t f.o.b. The previous low end of the range was no longer considered achievable. The price has climbed 27% since mid-February this year. The benchmark is down 53% from early December 2022, but had climbed 47% from the end of July 2023 to its mid-October average of $110/t f.o.b. before declines set in once again. Chinese buyers returned to the international spot market in late April following weeks of inactivity, lifting c.fr prices.

Prices in the West are unlikely to garner much support moving into the latter stages of Q2. The May Tampa ammonia settlement was settled by Yara and Mosaic at $450/t c.fr, down $25/t on the $475/t c.fr agreed for April. With seasonal domestic demand in the US drawing to a close 2H April, many had anticipated that either a rollover or a slight decline would be agreed.

Falling volumes of sulphur from refining and sour gas could turn Europe into a sulphur importer.

Paradeep Phosphates Limited (PPL) and Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited (MCFL) have agreed to merge.

More than 900 delegates from 400 companies and 56 countries gathered at the Hilton Downtown Hotel, Miami, Florida, 5-7 February, for the 2024 Fertilizer Latino Americano (FLA) conference. The event was jointly convened by Argus and CRU. We present selected highlights from this year’s three-day conference.

We review potash mining and mineral processing methods. Advances in equipment technology and major project investments are highlighted.

Specialty fertilizer products represent a small volume, high value segment of the overall fertilizer market that’s been growing at around four percent per annum in recent years. Economic, environmental, regulatory and agronomic imperatives are driving up their adoption – and an overall shift from volume to value in the fertilizer market.

Biostimulants are emerging as mainstream products with major fertilizer producers – including Yara, Mosaic, Fertiberia and ICL – launching their own biostimulant lines and expanding production capabilities. Smaller innovative companies, meanwhile, such as Azotic and Fyteko, remain the mainstays of the sector and are continuing to being new products to market. Other players such as Den Nouden/GrowSolutions are targeting the expansion of organic fertilizers.

Ammonia pricing in the US Mid-West stood at $625/st f.o.b. in February, with applications to field continuing to ramp up. Prices in the US Gulf remain pegged in the low-to-mid$400s/t f.o.b. Recent production outages in the region have largely subsided, though an unexpectedly early uptick in seasonal demand from local buyers is likely to provide a degree of price support moving forward. The Tampa ammonia settlement for March has been settled by Yara and Mosaic at a $445/t c.fr rollover, largely in line with market expectations. The North American market remains detached from the considerably more oversupplied global ammonia scene.

Ammonia prices are expected to remain soft moving through January into February, with little in the way of price support from both a supply and demand perspective. January’s Tampa settlement was $100/t down on December at $525/t CFR.